Elvis Darko: Government should review all revenue assurance deals
The Editor of Newscenta Newspaper, Elvis Darko, has urged a comprehensive review of all revenue assurance contracts signed by successive governments, following the recent termination of agreements between the Government of Ghana and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Monday, November 3, 2025, Mr. Darko noted that revenue assurance companies have been employed by various administrations over the years to help address leakages in state revenue collection systems. He argued that if the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has deemed SML’s operations unnecessary or problematic, similar contracts across other sectors, including energy and telecommunications, should also be scrutinized.
“If we want to do this SML thing, and we think we want to save the state some money, then it is not only SML we have to go after. Every revenue assurance contract must be looked at,” he stated.
Mr. Darko stated that while revenue assurance companies can play a key role in boosting state revenue, the terms of engagement must be fair and transparent.
He proposed that compensation should not be based on revenue already collected by state agencies before the companies’ involvement. Instead, payments should reflect the additional revenue generated as a direct result of their services.
“If the company is collecting an amount of money before the services of a revenue assurance company are engaged, then you cannot pay the new company with the amount the state agency has already collected,” he said.
“It should rather be on the profit that the revenue assurance company has helped the agency to collect. If we do that, we will get a better revenue assurance system.”
Mr. Darko’s remarks follow President John Dramani Mahama’s directive on October 31, 2025, ordering the termination of all contracts between the government and SML after the OSP concluded its investigation into the company’s dealings with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
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